General information: Long-term residence permit

You are entitled to file an application for a long-term residence permit inside the Czech Republic at the MOI offices, if:

you have been residing in the Czech Republic on a visa for a stay of over 90 days and

you intend to temporarily live in the CzechRepublic for more than 1 year including the previous visa

and if, at the same time, the purpose of your stay remains unchanged (exceptions are made e.g. for a Blue Card, family members or scientists).

In given cases, an application for a long-term residence permit without the precondition of staying on a visa for over 90 days can be submitted a Czech Embassy (purpose of studies, scientific research, family reunification, resident of another EU Member State, Blue Card or Green Card).

An application of permit or of extension validity of long term residence in the Czech Republic you are generally obligated to submit soon enough 120 days before end of validity of existing permit to long term residence or long term visa and at the latest day of validity of visa or residence permit. If the last day of validity of long term visa or long term residence permit is public holiday (Saturday, Sunday, holiday), the last day you are able to submit an application is nearest PREVIOUS working day. In case when the deadline is on working day, which is not official day (Friday), it is possible to deliver an application of extension validity of long term residence permit by Post Office at the last day of this term. It does not apply for applications, which you have to submit personally (an application of edition of long term residence permit, an application of “change of purpose” for long term residence permit), this application has to be delivered to the Ministry of Interior at the last day of term. In case that such an application is personally confirmed to 5 days, it can be delivered to the Ministry of Interior at the last day of term by email, fax, to online data storage of the Ministry of Interior. Fact that the last day of term is unofficial day, cannot be considered for reason independent of the will, which obstrucs to the foreigner to submit an application. For this reason we ask you to submit an applications with time-ahead.

If you are prevented from filing the application for reasons beyond your control, you are entitled to file this application within 5 working days of these reasons ending. You can submit an application even earlier than 120 days before expiry the validity of authorization in justifiable cases. You are obligated to communicate the reasons for later presentation and for earlier presentation of an application with the Ministry of Interior.

If the validity of your current long-term visa expires before the decision on an application for a long-term residence permit, as long as the application was submitted within the given time-limit (respectively later or previously under the listed conditions above), the visa is understood to be valid until the decision on the new application comes into force. This fact can be confirmed by affixing an Interim visa / Residence Sticker into applicant’s passport.

You should submit the application on a completed form along with all the necessary requirements given individually for selected purposes of stay. You should, however, always submit originals or notarized copies of the documents. All of the documents submitted must be made out in the Czech language or Slovak language or officially translated into Czech. Moreover, foreign public documents must be supported by a higher verification (Apostille, superlegalisation).

The requirements for the application shall not be older than 180 days except for the travel document and the photograph of the foreign national if it corresponds to his/her actual appearance.

Application proceedings

You are obliged to file the application for a long-term residence permit and application of "change of purse" for long term residence permit in person. (Only with certain types of applications that can be filed at embassies, the particular Czech Embassy can waive this obligation, in well-substantiated cases). If the application is filed in the Czech Republic in a different manner (electronically, by post, via an authorised representative), it has to be delivered to the Ministry of Interior at the last day of statutory period (it is not enough to submit the application at the last day on the Post Office) application proceedings are not initiated if you do not visit the MOI office were the application was sent/submitted in person within 5 days from it being received. If this is the case, the office will inform you of the fact that proceedings were not initiated and will return the application to you along with any appendices.

An application of extension validity of long term residence you are not obligated to submit personally, it suffices, if you transmit an application to Post Transportation at the last day of statutory period.

In the event of filing the application at a Czech Embassy, the Czech Embassy works as an intermediary between the applicants and the body responsible the MOI. During the proceedings, the embassy communicates with the applicants, inviting them for an interview, informing them of the reasons for rejecting their application or invites them to arrive for the stamping of the visa for over 90 days for the purpose of collecting a residence permit.

If the specified requirements have not been submitted with the application or it has other discrepancies, the proceedings for such an application can be suspended. During the proceedings, the MOI/embassy can invite you for an interview, request that you complete the requirements, take your fingerprints or take a pictorial record of you.

Additions can be made to the application in person, by means of your proxy or by post. The documents you were asked to provide should always be provided within the set deadlines. Not providing these requirements is a reason to reject the application. During the process you can, of course, provide any other documents that you consider important for your application.

The Act on the Residence of Foreign Nationals (pdf, 1.7 MB) sets out the deadlines in which the MOI has to make a decision on the application from the day of filing the application. The deadlines vary for individual purposes of stay and can be found in the information on individual categories. If the proceedings are suspended, the deadline for issuing a decision is also suspended. This deadline is also suspended or is extended in cases laid down by law.

Decision to issue a long-term residence permit

In the case of a positive appraisal of your application, the MOI office/embassy at which you filed the application will contact you.

If you are not in the Schengen area at the expected time of a decision to be reached (on an application submitted inside Schengen area), please inform the given MOI office/embassy of this matter.

In the stated time period, however no longer than 60 days from providing the biometric data, you have to report in person at a MOI office in order to collect your residence permit card - to confirm your identity (or more precisely the correctness of the personal information in the card, its functionality and the information and correctness of the data saved on the biometric card).

During your stay in CR do not forget to report changes related to your residence.

Decision to reject an application

The MOI rejects an application for long-term residence if

the foreign national, upon request of the MOI or the embassy, does not turn up for an interview or does not submit any documents by the set deadline, or

the foreign national does not fill in the application for a long-term residence permit truthfully, or

the foreign national submits forged or altered documents or data necessary for appraising the application presented in them does not correspond to reality, or

the foreign national is persona non grata, or

the foreign national appears in the Schengen Information System, or

there is reasonable risk that during his/her stay in the Czech Republic the foreign national could threaten state security, seriously disturb public order or endanger international relations of the CR, or

there is reasonable risk that during his/her stay in the territory of another EU country the foreign national could threaten state security, seriously disturb public order or endanger international relations of EU states, or

the foreigner could endanger public health at next residence in the Czech Republic by his / her serious illness stated in conditions set out in the measure of Ministry of Health on prevention of the spread of infectious illnesses, if it happened to this illness before the foreigner entered to the Czech Republic,

the applicant did not report for a hearing without giving a serious reason, refuses to answer or gives false information in his/her testimonial, or

he / she does not submit a document on travel medical insurance prior to receiving the long-term residence permit, or

he / she does not meet the conditions set by law for granting the permit, or

facts are ascertained indicating that after the cessation of stay set out by the long-term residence permit the foreign national will not leave the territory or intends to abuse the long-term residence permit for another purpose.

If the application is filed at an embassy, the application form will be returned along with all the requirements submitted, as well as the administrative fee. You are usually informed in writing of the reasons for rejecting or suspending the application.